Minerals, Gems and More … Oh My!

Amethyst

This precious mineral is a type of quartz with a distinct violet hue. Used often in jewelry, amethyst is the birthstone of February. It was also considered by the Greeks to be an amulet against drunkenness.

Chakra:

Purple amethyst is the 6th chakra (brow/third eye), with intuitive powers and insight.

Calcite

Calcite occurs in a variety of colors, including violet, blue, green, yellow, orange and even black. It’s a popular common mineral that’s widely available and found throughout the world in sedimentary, metamorphic and igneous rocks. Some geologists consider it to be a ubiquitous mineral, one that is found everywhere. Calcite is the principal constituent of limestone and marble. The properties of calcite make it one of the most widely used minerals. It is used as a construction material, abrasive, agricultural soil treatment, construction aggregate, pigment, pharmaceutical and more. It has more uses than almost any other mineral.

Chakra:

Calcite is the 3rd chakra (solar plexis) for energy & emotion.

Cavansite

Cavansite (calcium vanadium silicate) is a deep blue, hydrous calcium vanadium phyllosilicate mineral. It occurs as a secondary mineral in basaltic and andesitic rocks, along with a variety of zeolite minerals. Discovered in 1967 in Malheur County, Oregon, cavansite is a relatively rare mineral. While cavansite does contain vanadium and, thus, could be a possible ore source for the element, it is not generally considered an ore mineral. However, because of its rich color and relative rarity, cavansite is sought-after as a collector’s mineral. Cavansite tends to form crystal aggregates, generally in the form of balls up to a couple centimeters in size or, more rarely, bowtie-shaped aggregates. The color of cavansite is distinctive, almost always a rich, brilliant sky-blue to greenish blue.

Chakra:

Cavansite activates the throat and third eye, enhancing insight, communication and access to higher knowledge. It can help enhance intuition and psychic awareness. It is also useful for protecting the healer during psychic healing. Cavansite inspires new ways of thinking and dispels negative thought patterns. When placed on a doorway, it provides protection for the house.

Citrine

Citrine comes from the quartz family and is very rare in its natural form. Citrine has a unique tint, which can range from a light orangey-yellow to a hint of red or brown. The most commonly depicted color, however, is a beautiful shade of amber. Good qualities of this gem are that it can be cut very easily and it has a beautiful, vitreous luster. Since the six-sided shape of Citrine is very unique, and the hardness and luster to it is very pretty, it is normally used in jewelry such as necklaces, earrings, rings and bracelets. Citrine is also the birthstone for the month of November. Citrine has been used for thousands of years; it was most commonly used by the ancient Greeks and Romans for jewelry. During the Middle Ages, it was known to have medical and mystical qualities. It was believed that it would stimulate your creativity and give you self-confidence.

Chakra:

Citrine is the 3rd chakra (solar plexis) for energy & emotion.

Fluorite

Fluorite (fluorspar) is the mineral form of calcium fluoride (CaF2). A halide mineral, fluorite is colorful both in visible and ultraviolet light, and the stone has ornamental and lapidary uses. Industrially, fluorite is used as a flux for smelting, and in the production of certain glasses and enamels. Fluorite is a widely occurring mineral that can be found in deposits around the world. It may occur as a vein deposit, especially with metallic minerals, and may be associated with galena, sphalerite, barite, quartz and calcite. It is a common mineral in deposits of hydrothermal origin, and has been noted as a primary mineral in granites and other igneous rocks, and as a common minor constituent of dolostone and limestone.

Fluorite is allochromatic, meaning that it can be tinted with elemental impurities. Available in a wide range of colors, fluorite is often called “the most colorful mineral in the world.” It comes in every color of the rainbow, plus white, black and clear. The most common colors are purple, blue, green, yellow or colorless. Less common are pink, red, white, brown and black. Color zoning or banding is common.

Hematite

The mineral form of iron oxide, hematite varies in color from black to steel or silver-gray, brown to reddish brown, or red. Mined as the main ore of iron, varieties include kidney ore, martite (pseudomorphs after magnetite), iron rose and specularite (specular hematite). Hematite is harder than pure iron, but much more brittle. Maghemite is a hematite-and magnetite-related oxide mineral.

Large deposits of hematite are typically found in banded iron formations. Gray hematite is often found in places that have standing water or mineral hot springs (like those in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming). The mineral can precipitate out of water, where it collects in layers at the bottom of a lake, spring or other standing water. When hematite occurs without water, it’s usually the result of volcanic activity.

Clay-sized hematite crystals can also occur as a secondary mineral formed by weathering processes in soil, and along with other iron oxides or oxyhydroxides such as goethite, is responsible for the red color of many tropical, ancient or otherwise highly weathered soils.

(Note: The hematite often used in jewelry or sold as magnetized items is typically an artificially created material known as hematine, or magnetic hematite.)

Chakra:

Hematite is the 1st chakra, which is the root or base.

Jasper

Jasper is an opaque rock stemming from the mineral content of the original sediments or ash. Colors usually occur in red, yellow, brown or green (and rarely blue), with the most-common red color due to iron inclusions.

Streaks and spots arise during the consolidation process, forming patterns in the original silica-rich sediment or volcanic ash.

The mineral aggregate breaks with a smooth surface and is used for ornamentation or as a gemstone. It can be highly polished for use in vases, seals and snuff boxes.

Birthstone:

Along with heliotrope (bloodstone), jasper (green with red spots) is one of the traditional birthstones for March.

 Labradorite

Labradorite is a unique mineral with iridescent qualities referred to as labradorescence. This enchanting stone exhibits a beautiful display of blues, greens and grays with occasional ochre undertones.

Malachite

Malachite is a copper carbonate hydroxide mineral. This opaque, green-banded mineral crystallizes in the monoclinic crystal system, and most often forms botryoidal, fibrous or stalagmitic masses. Look for it in fractures and spaces, deep underground, where the water table and hydrothermal fluids provide the means for chemical precipitation. Malachite often results from weathering of copper ores and is often found together with azurite, goethite and calcite. Except for its vibrant green color, the properties of malachite are similar to those of azurite; malachite is more common than azurite and is typically associated with copper deposits around limestones, the source of the carbonate.

Malachite was used as a mineral pigment in green paints from antiquity until about 1800. It is also used for decorative purposes, especially in vases. Malachite colors are bright green, dark green, blackish green, commonly banded in masses; green to yellowish green in transmitted light.

Pyrite

This mineral has a metallic luster, giving it the popular name of Fool’s Gold. Due to its molecular makeup, pyrite has well-defined edges and unique geometrical shapes, resulting in an original flare and modern beauty.

Quartz

Quartz is the second most common mineral found in the Earth’s crust. Since ancient times, the beauty of quartz has been recognized and used in jewelry and carvings. High purity, naturally occurring quartz is rare and sought constantly. Types of quartz include citrine, rose quartz, amethyst, smoky quartz and milky quartz.

Chakra:

Quartz plays various roles depending on the color.

• Green or Rose Quartz: 4th chakra (heart) for love, compassion & forgiveness.
• Amethyst Quartz: 6th chakra (brow/third eye) for intuitive powers & insight.
• Quartz: 7th chakra (crown) for wisdom & knowledge.

Wulfenite

A lead molybdate mineral, wulfenite is often found as thin, tabular crystals with a bright orange-red to yellow-orange color (sometimes brown), although the color can be highly variable. In its yellow form, it is sometimes called “yellow lead ore.” Wulftenite typically occurs as stubby, pyramidal or tabular crystals, as well as earthy, granular masses. It is associated with lead ores, and is a secondary ore of molybdenum; it is sought by collectors.

A noted locality for wulfenite is the Red Cloud Mine in Arizona. Crystals are deep red in color and usually very well-formed. The Los Lamentos locality in Mexico produced very thick, tabular, orange crystals. In Mount Peca in Slovenia, Wulfenite crystals are yellow, often with well-developed pyramids and bipyramids.

Wulfenite colors range from yellow, orange-yellow, honey-yellow, reddish-orange, brown, olive-green, grey, black and rarely colorless.